The prevalence of self-harm behaviors among a sample of gastric surgery candidates.
OBJECTIVE
The surgical treatment of obesity is becoming increasingly popular; yet, little is known about the self-harm characteristics and adjunctive self-regulation difficulties of those seeking such surgery. In the literature, one study has explored presurgery suicide attempts and several studies have explored the prevalence of postsurgical completed suicides. However, beyond suicide attempts and completions, little is known about the broader self-harm/self-regulation profiles of these patients. In this study, we examined the prevalence of 22 such behaviors among a sample of gastric surgery candidates.


METHODS
Using a cross-sectional approach, we examined 121 surgical candidates for 22 self-reported self-harm and self-regulatory behaviors.


RESULTS
The studied behaviors with the highest prevalence rates in this cohort were sexual promiscuity (22.3%), torturing oneself with self-defeating thoughts (20.7%), alcohol abuse (19.0%), and engaging in emotionally abusive relationships (16.5%). With regard to suicide attempts, 9.1% of participants acknowledged a history and 9.1% reported past overdoses.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that (a) adjunctive self-regulatory difficulties may affect a substantial minority of individuals who are seeking gastric surgery for obesity (e.g., promiscuity and alcohol abuse), and (b) the anticipated prevalence rate for past suicide attempts in this population appears to be approximately 10%.
Sansone
Randy A
RA
Department of Psychiatry at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, OH 45342, USA. randy.sansone@kmcnetwork.org
Wiederman
Michael W
MW
Schumacher
David F
DF
Routsong-Weichers
Lynn
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015390:Gastric Bypass / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015391:Gastroplasty / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult